1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to locking mechanisms for maintaining overlapping sliding door ends together and in particular to independent locks that can be easily installed and removed from overlapping sliding doors ends.
2. Prior Art
Locking arrangements for maintaining sliding door ends together are, of course, not new and examples of pairs of track mounted sliding doors that, when closed, have their ends aligned, in side by side relationship are shown in U.S. Patents to Moran, U.S. Pat. No. 1,956,651 and to Egan, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,293. Which arrangements the hinge lock of the invention is for use with. Whereas, door arrangements where only one door is arranged to slide relative to another door or window, with the door ends to butt against one another are not suitable for locking together by the hinge lock of the invention. Such door arrangements are shown in U.S. Patents to Marulic, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,785 and to Moose, U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,615. Accordingly, it should be understood, the invention is useful for maintaining overlapping door ends together to include the doors of the cited Moran and Egan, et al., patents but is unlike the lock configurations of these patents.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a lock for maintaining a pair of sliding doors together at their overlapping ends.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an independent sliding doors hinge lock assembly that includes a removable hinge assembly arranged to fit over both sliding doors ends and including a hinge connected strap that can be pivoted to travel over a tab that is secured to extend outward from a door frame end, where, with the strap positioned over the tab, the tab is to received a conventional pad lock shackle fitted therethrough.
Still another object of the present invention in a sliding doors hinge lock is to provide a first and second door end mounts that are pivotally connected together and are for individually fitting over the side by side sliding door ends, which second door end mount includes a hasp having a hinged strap that is to be pivoted over a tab that extends outwardly from a frame surface of a second door end and is to receive an open end of a shackle of a conventional padlock fitted therethrough.
Still another object of the present invention in a sliding doors hinge lock is to provide, as a removable lock, first and second hinge components that are pivotally connected together and are easily fitted to and removed from adjacent sliding door ends for quickly and conveniently locking the door ends together.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sliding doors hinge lock arrangement that is inexpensive to produce, is easy to install and will reliably maintain two overlapping sliding door ends together.
The invention is in a sliding doors hinge assembly for operation with a tab mounted to a door frame end surface. The assembly includes hinge connected first and second door end mounts, with the first mount formed from a section of channel of a size to fit over an inner door frame end. The first and second mounts share an inner side of the channel that has a forward edge connected by a hinge connection to a flat second mount nose end that is sized to fit over a door frame end. Which nose end has its opposite end connected by a hasp hing to a hasp strap that includes a slot opening formed therethrough. The hasp strap slot is to fit over the tab that includes a hole therethrough that is to receive an outer end of a conventional pad lock shackle. The shackle has an outer end that is closed into and locked within a padlock case or body. The first and second mounts are each for fitting over the adjacent sliding door ends to hold the door ends together, prohibiting their being move across one another until the padlock shackle is unlocked and removed from the tab hole.